


One In A Thousand

by Kylia



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, And I Mean This Isn't An Airport Where They Can Just Check It For A While, And Like Idiots They Won't Put It Down, And Pick it Back Up At The Baggage Claime But Still, Daxam Was A Really Fucked Up Place But It Was Mon-El's Home, Everyone Is Carrying Around Baggage, F/F, Gen, I Really Wasn't Planning To Write Any Supergirl/Supercorp Fanfic Yet and Then Boom, Lena Luthor Needs a Hug, Like Not Really Slow Burn But Kind Of In A Way, Mon-El Friendly, Mon-El Has A Better Character Arc, Mon-El Never Gets Interested In Kara, Mon-El POV, Sanvers Will Be A Thing Like In Canon But Not A Major Focus, Season 2 Rewrite, So He's Gonna Have A Complicated Relationship With It To Say The Least, They're Idiots But They're Loveable Idiots, lena luthor pov, slowish burn, this happened
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-05-01 07:32:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14515473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kylia/pseuds/Kylia
Summary: Only one in a thousand humans - at most - have a soulmate. Lena certainly never expected she'd be one of those lucky few. Nor did she imagine her soulmate would be an alien, the cousin to her brother's nemesis. And with her mother launching a new crusade against aliens under the banner of 'Cadmus', in the name of protecting Earth, her life has just become infinitely more complicated. It's a good thing Kara Danvers/Zor-El is worth it.His homeworld lost to him, Mon-El, the Crown Prince of Daxam must come to terms with that loss, and learn for himself what it means to be a prince without a planet and as he lives on Earth, he'll realize just how many flaws his world had that he never saw, never noticed, because he'd never known any other way of living.





	1. Unanticipated

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** I don't own Supergirl.
> 
> **Author's Note:** I've always had mixed feelings about Soulmate AUs and the stories spawned by them - I usually love the idea, but in practice I never see it written (in longer form anyway) in ways that fit my highly idiosyncratic tastes. And of course, not being able to find fics that fit my idiosyncratic tastes for a ship, character, fandom, trope, etc, is usually where I get my fanfics from, at least in part. Usually I have to combine that idiosyncratic need with some other notion or idea and go from there. And thus, we have this story.
> 
> If you are someone who utterly and completely hates Mon-el, this is probably not the story for you. While this story is and will completely be Supercorp, without anything that could be really interpreted as Karamel, I quite like the character in of himself and think he was and interesting and fun character and he brought something useful to the table, narratively speaking, for season 2. For the record, on the Mon-el and any other front: I have yet to watch Season 3.
> 
> There will be, once we get to him, nearly as many scenes from Mon-el's POV as from Lena's, because I am weaving two story threads together into this one story - a Supercorp Soulmate AU and a 'Kylia Tries Her Hand At Writing Mon-El To Her Idiosyncratic Tastes' Season 2 Rewrite. We'll see if it works as well in practice as it does in my head. It might not.
> 
> This fic will be a Season 2 rewrite, starting from Episode 2x03, diverging outwards - slowly at first, but more and more as the story goes forward. I tend to assume an episode starts on the date that it airs, unless it is a two-parter, explicitly follows on a short time from the previous episode or some specific amount of time between episodes is established
> 
> As a final note, this fic is un-beta'd, and on the off-chance anyone reading this is interested in helping me out on that front, my tumblr is @Kyliafanfiction, where I also also make posts about my fics, fandom and fanfic culture in general and the various fandoms I'm in.

One In A Thousand

By Kylia

Chapter 1: Unanticipated

Lena Luthor had never really thought she'd have a soulmate.

Not just because of the lifetime of rejection her adoptive mother had given her. Not even because of the baggage of her last name - after all, who would want a Luthor, the sister of the man who had gone insane and nearly destroyed Metropolis, among other sins, as their soulmate?

No, the primary reason Lena never expected to have a soulmate was simple mathematics. Only about one in a thousand humans (some estimates put that down a bit further, to one in two or three thousand) had a soulmate. The vast majority of humans, unfortunately, had to handle questions of love, relationships and marriage with merely human faculties, muddling through romance and dating the mundane way.

Of course, until you actually made physical contact with your soulmate, you never knew that you had a soulmate, which had always struck Lena as such an incredibly inefficient system, to put it mildly. People could be married, even have children, when they finally met their soulmates. But almost every culture in history, it seemed, even the ones with the strictest laws about divorce or annulment, seemed to make exceptions for soulmates - often interpreted as the will of God or the Gods - and by all accounts, things usually worked out for the best for everyone involved in such situations, even the spouse left behind. _Usually_.

Like most children, Lena had, when she was younger, wished for a soulmate, dreamed of meeting her perfect match. She'd only ever entertained such thoughts for a fairly brief time in her life, however. The odds were simply not in her favor - on a planet of over seven billion, one tenth of one percent did mean some seven million people did have soulmates, which only seemed large when it wasn't set against the raw number of people there were. 0.1% just wasn't that great of a chance.

As things stood, Lena was quite sure she had used up the lion's share of her lifetime allotment of luck when she was adopted by a family as well-off as the Luthors following her birth mother's death. Even if, especially in the last few years, it didn't always feel like she'd been all that lucky.

All that said, Lena remained fascinated by the notion of soulmates. A part of humanity since the beginning, as far as anyone could tell, the 'soulmate phenomenon' had been discussed by countless thousands philosophers, theologians and scientists, all trying to make sense of it, to fit it into their way of looking at the world, to understand it. Authors, artists, poets and musicians had contributed to the discussion in their own way, portraying soulmates and their stories in every conceivable way.

Modern science had come to a few broad consensuses about soulmates, but only in the most general terms. There seemed to be a genetic component, in regards to whether or not someone had a soulmate, but it didn't seem to be entirely genetic. Attempts had been made, with only middling success at best, to predict if people had soulmates, or even what kinds of person someone might have as their soulmate. But still, researchers in the field had thought they were making progress.

Until three years ago, when the first _confirmed_ case of someone having an alien as their soulmate had been found. No aliens, as far as anyone knew, had soulmates, at least not in the way humans did. But the notion that a human could have an _alien_ as their soulmate? An alien not even born on this planet? That had blown up countless theories and assumptions, especially when, in the years since, several more cases had been found and confirmed, and several dozen more supposedly extant, but as of yet unconfirmed. There was even a book written by one of the confirmed cases. Lena had bought it when it came out six months ago, curious... but she'd never gotten around to reading it yet.

She found herself very much wishing she had when a reporter from CatCo Magazine came to her office for an interview.

**Lena's Office, L-Corp Headquarters**

**October 25th, 2016**

When she'd gotten the request for an interview from Kara Danvers, Lena had been happy to accept. Her guess that the other woman had been a reporter hadn't been correct at the time, but she had picked up on something that had made it clear that's what she aspired to be. And she was right. Again.

Lena was used to being right about things.

She'd accepted for several reasons. First and foremost, because Kara Danvers had seemed quite open to believing that she wasn't her brother, that she was genuine in her desire to have the Luthor name stand for something positive again, to have L-Corp be a company people trusted once more. She'd certainly been far less suspicious and hostile than Clark Kent, though he had at least somewhat come around before returning to Metropolis.

Given who he was, that didn't surprise her. Clark and Lex had been friends, until her brother had become too vocally anti-alien for the reporter to accept it. He'd been burned by a Luthor before - compared to some people, he'd been shockingly fair minded when she'd professed her innocence.

Which was even more surprising given who Clark Kent really was. When she'd found those - well hidden - files her brother had left behind, in the company's systems upon taking over Luthor Corp, she was stunned she'd never put the pieces together before. That no one else had. Once you knew Clark Kent and Superman were the same person, _everything_ made a great deal more sense.

_Then again, Lex only figured it out because he managed to capture a clear image of Superman's face and ran it through the best facial recognition software known to man - best because he invented it that way._

When she'd realized that her brother had known Superman's real identity for _years_ and done nothing with it... well, she'd been confused. Until she'd finally mustered the courage to read his journals. She hadn't been able to get through them all, especially the last ones that had been increasingly manic, frantic with their hate and bile, his obsession with defeating Superman, with saving Earth from the alien menace. They'd never quite reached incoherence, but they got close.

But she had read many of them, parts of others, and been able to draw some conclusions.

As best as she could guess, at the end of the day, for Lex, it had been as much about _beating_ Superman as protecting Earth from the alien menace. Proving that the ingenuity of man - _his_ ingenuity - was enough to stop even the Man of Steel. It wouldn't have been a fair fight to go after Clark Kent or his family, friends and loved ones like that. So he didn't.

Lena also liked to believe - or hope, at least - that some lingering affection for his onetime friend had stayed his hand on that front. At least a little. She had no proof, no real reason to believe it, but she wanted to nonetheless, to believe that there was some semblance of the older brother who had been a good man was still there, underneath all the hate and jealousy and rage and bigotry. Underneath all the insanity.

Which brought everything back to Kara Danvers - why was someone who wasn't a reporter yet, tagging along with a reporter from a rival paper that just so happened to be Superman? Who had the right hair color and really, how was anyone (herself included) even partially fooled by those glasses? There was an obvious potential answer, of course.

It was hardly proof, but combined with Kara's genuineness, how nice she'd been, how much she'd clearly wanted to help Lena, and how much she seemed willing to believe the truth that Lena was different from her brother...

Well, it was a simple choice to give her the interview.

And didn't hurt that, one a purely shallow level, Kara Danvers was nice to look at. _Very nice_.

"Ms. Luthor," Kara Danvers said as she entered the office, approaching her desk.  
  
"Lena, please," :Lena stood up, extending her hand and shaking the other woman's in greeting. "It's good to see you again Ms. Danvers," The words rolled off her tongue smoothly - they were true, but also pro forma, something she'd said, with many different names, many thousands of times.

But there was nothing normal or routine about what happened when her hand touched Kara Danvers'.

The jolt of pure electricity that ran up her arm and into her body set her blood pumping and her heart beating fast, as if she had just been sprinting. Her breath caught, her vision went blurry save for Kara for a split second, and then...

She heard and felt it. A name, in her head, as if shouted. _Kara Zor-El._ And a sharp, stinging pain on her left shoulder, followed by what she could only describe as a painful tingling, spider-web sensation.

"Ah!" Lena's free hand grabbed at her shoulder, as if that would do anything about the already fading stab of pain or the tingling sensation

Lena didn't let go of Kara's hand - she couldn't - but she nearly staggered back under the weight of what had just happened, as it dawned on her. The obvious. She had every symptom, as described countless times.

Kara Danvers - _Kara Zor-El_ \- was her soulmate.

Kara was looking back at her with confusion, no recognition on her face, no sign that she'd experienced _anything_ like what Lena just had.

Which shouldn't have been possible... except...

Well, between the name shouted in her head and Kara's lack of reaction, Lena had no doubts about her theory as to why Kara had been hanging around with Clark Kent.

"Lena - are you alright!? What's wrong?"

"I'm - I'm fine." She looked past Kara to Victor Pine, one of her personal security detail, who was standing by the door. If he had any realization as to why had just happened, she couldn't tell from his expression. "Victor, could you give us a moment? And close the door on your way out?" The man nodded after a moment and stepped out of her office, closing the door behind him.

"Lena-" Kara blinked in confusion. "What's - what happened? Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm not hurt," Lena said, her mind racing as fast as it often did, trying to figure out the best way to do this. Supergirl - Kara Danvers... Kara Zor-El - had been on Earth for some time, so she had to be _aware_ of the soulmate phenomenon among humans. But as an alien, she wouldn't likely imagine she _could_ have a soulmate.

But Kara didn't know. So Lena could control just when and how she told Kara. It didn't have to be right this second, as happened with humans who met their soulmates - both knew at the same time. It would give her a measure of control over the whole process, which Lena found appealing.

_I shouldn't tell her - she's a Super... she might have believed me before, but I'm still a Luthor. I can't tell her yet._

And yet... Lena hated that idea. She didn't want to lie to her soulmate - not a great way to start things off, to say the least, and given that she'd long since assumed she'd never have one...

Lena wanted it all, and she wanted it to be perfect, or as perfect as it could be.

And she didn't want to wait. Not any longer than she had to. It was all so surreal, and any second now, Lena was worried she'd wake, or somehow... it would all go away.

Lena let go of Kara's hand and pulled up the sleeve of her shirt slightly, revealing the writing on her left shoulder. Writing that was in no lettering or language she recognized - not one from Earth. She glanced over at Kara, whose eyes had widened for a split second upon seeing the words that had to be Kryptonian. She assumed.

"I don't read Kryptonian - that's what this is, isn't it? - but I'm going to guess this says Kara Zor-El? I can't imagine it says 'Supergirl', for obvious reasons."

Kara flinched a little at the name, at her name, at the connection between Kara Danvers and National City's resident superhero... She bit her lip, looking down at the ground for a moment. Lena wished she knew exactly what was going through the other woman's head right now.

But Lena wasn't even sure what was going through hers. She felt... almost giddy, which a clinical part of her noted was an extraordinarily common side-effect of finding one's soulmate. She couldn't believe what was happening, that she had a soulmate, that she had a perfect match...

That her perfect match was an alien - that she was a Super. A Super and a Luthor as soulmates sounded both so cliche and obvious and... so very impossible.

Which also left her nerves tightening into a solid ball in her gut, as the prospect of this not being possible. Almost every single time soulmates found each other, they had a happy life together, as long as they both lived. _Almost._

And Supergirl - Kara - had nearly died more than once... Girl of Steel or not, invulnerable to most forms of injury or not, she could still die. Die tomorrow. Die next week, die

Her birth mother had died. Her adoptive father had died. Her brother was insane and in prison for seventeen consecutive life terms. Her adoptive mother had never wanted her to begin with.

That little dark core of fear asked her the obvious question - _couldn't your soulmate leave you too? One way or the other?_

Lena closed her eyes for a moment and inhaled sharply, forcing her thoughts into something resembling rational coherence. She'd have to deal with all this more, when the reality of what was happening really hit her later, but she needed to focus on the now.

"This-" Kara started, stammering a little, "this- how can - I mean, how can I be your soulmate? How is that even - I'm an - I'm not _human_!" _At least she isn't trying to pretend she isn't Supergirl. Probably too stunned by it all to even try_. "How is that even - it's a human thing, soulmates! Kryptonians - we don't - and I mean, there's - I don't even... what the heck?"

"Actually, there are a few confirmed cases of humans having alien soulmates," Lena said softly. "Soulmates have always been a topic of academic curiosity for me," she added by way of explanation. "It's thrown soulmate researchers into fits of confusion, but it is possible. Quite evidently." Lena paused a moment, before going on before she could stop herself: "Soulmate tattoos are impossible to fake, when examined close enough. If you'd like, we could have-"

Kara interrupted, shaking her head, "No... no you don't need to - I... I believe you. I just... I never expected - for obvious reasons..." She closed her eyes and took a breath. "And I'm not used to being... well, outed as Supergirl. By a tattoo, of all things."

"I actually suspected you were Supergirl already... this just confirmed it." Kara blinked, looking at her in confusion, and looking almost... disappointed. "I'd like to say that it was just because glasses don't actually make for a good disguise, but it was more that the fact you first came into my office with Superman that was suspicious."

Kara started to _try_ to protect her cousin's identity, but Lena shook her head.

"My brother... he's many things, most of them bad, but one of them is clever. He did figure it out. I found the files he had proving that Clark Kent and Superman were in fact the same person." Kara's eyes widened, and Lena shook her head. "They've been deleted, and I set a program to dig through the rest of the company's networks to erase anything else he may have left behind with that proof."

Kara let out a breath. "That... thank you." Then she suddenly giggled, "He'll be sooooo annoyed when I tell him his arch-nemesis knew who he was!" She took another deep breath, getting control of herself. "Sorry. This just feels..."

"Surreal?" Lena suggested, and Kara nodded. "Maybe we should sit." She took her own advice and sat down, Kara following suit. "I'm not entirely sure how to process this... the part about this that makes the most sense is that my soulmate is a woman."

Kara nodded, letting out a small chuckle. "That part would be pretty mundane compared to... well, everything else. So... you already knew you were... gay?"

"Bisexual, actually, but I tend to prefer women." Lena explained with a smile. She looked Kara over again quickly, seeing, that she knew to look, the hints of Kara's musculature, and wondered - she allowed herself a moment of it - just how those muscles would feel under her hands...

 _She really is quite lovely._ To put it mildly.

"And... the fact that I'm a woman doesn't surprise you?" Lena asked, wondering. It didn't seem to, but Lena wanted to be sure.

"I suppose by Earth terms I'm bisexual - on - on Krypton there just aren't specific words for... sexual orientation. It's just attraction who whoever you're attracted to... romantic interest in whoever - whoever you're interested in -" Kara as speaking quickly, almost babbling in a way that managed to be endearing and adorable rather than annoying. "I mean - I've - I've never been in a serious relationship with a woman, and I've usually only ever gone after guys I was interested in but - I mean... no, it doesn't surprise me, not compared to actually _having_ a soulmate and... I mean, you're a really really pretty woman and kind of took my breath away when I first saw you when I came in with Clark and I'm going to stop now before I dig the hole any deeper," Kara took a deep breath, her cheeks pink.

"Breathtaking, am I?" Lena raised an eyebrow. Kara just nodded, keeping her mouth shut for the moment. Smiling a little, Lena leaned across the desk a little. "You're rather beautiful yourself, Kara." It was true. Then she settled back into her chair.

"So at least there's an attraction. Unsurprising, but that still leaves the fact that we barely know each other." Lena pointed out, settling into finding a practical solution.

Kara nodded. "And... this -" she swallowed lightly. "I did come here for an interview and if I don't it in before noon my boss will probably fire me and I really want to keep my job," she explained. "I... and I need some time to process this and -" Kara closed her mouth, clearing her throat. "It's just... it's a lot to think about, and... I do need to get a quote from -"

"The sister of the world's most notorious alien hater on the eve of the President signing her Alien Amnesty Act?" Lena finished.

"Yeah." Kara nodded. She frowned, "Sorry."

Lena shook her head. "I'm a Luthor. I can't pretend that I'm not just because it's inconvenient." She considered for a moment. "Why don't we have lunch, tomorrow?" A lunch date was far lighter than a dinner date. It would let them get to know each other, figure out how all this world work, in a controlled, low-pressure context.

"Like a date?" Kara blurted out, then her cheeks flushed again.

"That is the idea, yes. A date." Lena smiled again. Kara looked adorable when blushing. "Something light, no strings attached. Just getting to know each other? We can do the interview now and... then we'll both have time to process this revelation. It's probably going to take a few hours for it to really hit me that _Supergirl_ is my soulmate."

Kara smiled broadly, and Lena decided she wanted to see that smile on a regular basis. _Slow down girl!_

"A date, then." She nodded, still smiling. "Unless you had somewhere in mind - I know this great place, just a few blocks away from here. It's a bit out of the way, and usually not super busy, so it'd be pretty private and they make some of the _best_ potstickers in the city."

"That sounds good," Lena agreed. She held out a hand. "Let me program my number into your phone."


	2. Interviews and Interrogations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ****  
>  Disclaimer:    
>    
>  Supergirl is not mine
> 
> As before, this chapter is unbeta'd. All mistakes are mine. Also, if you feel like I'm getting the characterization of someone wrong, feel free to (politely) let me know - I may not agree with you, I may not change what I'm writing, but I will hear you out and I may take it into account. I'm not sure on how good a handle I have on the voices of these characters, just yet, especially Kara.
> 
> Mon-el in this chapter - he's gonna be more or less like he was when he first showed up in canon. He has a lot of growth to do, and that's what I plan to explore in his POV scenes, so bear that in mind. Mon-el has a lot of social and cultural baggage he needs to shed to be a decent person - he's starting with all the biases and stereotypes he'd logically start with, given his life and upbringing.
> 
> I did a little research and apparently in the comics, the Zuurt is a large, domesticated goat-like creature native to Krypton. I was just looking for an animal that would have fit the analogy it's used in, and this seemed reasonable that it might be on Daxam as well, or that Mon-el would know of it. I just made up a name that seemed like it sounded Kryptonian/Daxamite for Mon-el's unnamed guardsman.

One In A Thousand

By Kylia

Chapter 2: Interviews and Interrogations

**Lena's Office, L-Corp Headquarters**

**October 25th, 2015**

Lena handed Kara her phone back, "So, the interview, then." She stood up from her chair. "I want to show you something," Lena added, as she walked over to a secure lockbox, which she opened with a thumbprint scan.

"My brother hated aliens. I'm still not entirely sure why, though I suppose prejudice doesn't need to make sense. But I do understand why there are people who regard aliens living among us with apprehension. Someone from a different planet, with wildly different biologies and powers and mindsets, moving into your own is significantly different than just people from another country moving in."

Lena looked back over at Kara, who had a slight frown at her words. With anyone else, Lena might have chosen her words more carefully, but Kara had shown she was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, and she was her soulmate. _If I can't be honest with her, I can't be honest with anyone._

"They're still immigrants though - and that's what this nation is, a nation of immigrants. The President - she's just living up to American ideals." Kara said, clearly choosing her words carefully.

"And she's absolutely right to sign this Executive Order," Lena agreed. "Having aliens that live on Earth, in this country, hide in the shadows is a terrible idea, because it will only make the people inclined to be afraid even more afraid." Lena took the alien detective device - they still needed a proper name for it - out of the lockbox. "But the people who are worried and concerned aren't just racists or xenophobes, is my point. Not all of them, anyway. Last year, you were affected by... something that changed how you behaved, made you lash out at innocent people across the city."

Kara nodded, slowly, wincing at little at the reminder. Lena continued: "That's not you, clearly, you've shown that time and again when you save this city... because you're a good person. You're not Supergirl for the praise and fame and I don't think there's any money in it."

"No, there's not. And I can't even claim royalties on the Supergirl action figures that are being sold," Kara almost pouted, and somehow that made her look even more attractive. _Good god Lena._ Clearly the... universe, or whatever divine entity picked soulmates had been on to something when selecting Kara for her, because there seemed to be nothing this woman could do that she didn't find attractive.

"I've heard rumors one of the major video game companies wants to make a Supergirl game - just rumors, nothing concrete," Lena added, and Kara broke into a smile as she laughed.

"A video game!? About me - Rao, that'd be so _cool_!" Kara forced herself to take a breath and close her eyes for a moment. "Sorry. Keep going."

"It's alright Kara," Lena said with a small smile of her own. "My point is that you have the potential to do a lot of damage if you want - any alien does, if they have powers or capacities significantly beyond the human norm."

"So can a human. I mean..." Kara trailed off meaningfully, but Lena could tell exactly where she was going.

"You're absolutely right. Lex did a lot of damage. Killed a lot of people. He was brilliant, and designed the devices he used himself, but he had to make those devices... I've looked at his finances. He may have avoided using this company's resources for his insane plans, but he nearly bankrupted himself several times, trying to kill your cousin." Lena sighed.

"Look at it this way - if Lex had just been a... bigoted crank living in a basement somewhere, would he have been able to go toe-to-toe with Superman for so long?" Kara shook her head no after a long moment. Lena nodded and continued: "Building a bomb isn't that hard, though truly effective one can be - but there are things we can do to try and stop people from getting dangerous things and taking them to places where they can hurt people with them. Metal detectors and bomb-sniffing dogs. Someone can't just take your powers away from you like they could take someone's gun or bomb."

"I-" Kara paused for a moment. "And that's what that is? An alien-sniffing dog?" She gestured to the device in Lena's hand, and Lena nodded.

"More or less - it's still very much in the prototype stage. All it can do now is say 'human' or 'alien'," She pressed her thumb to the scanner and watched the light go up green. She held the device out to Kara. After a moment's hesitation, Kara touched her thumb to the device and watched it flash red.

"See?" Lena took the device back. "My hope is that we can improve it to eventually provide a readout on the species of the alien, or extrapolate what it can from the biology detected."

"But - this will just drive aliens back into the shadows!" Kara protested. "I - people will use it as a way to exclude aliens, or find them and persecute them better."

"Thanks to things like the Alien Amnesty Act, that's against the law, now isn't it?" Lena pointed out. "I can't eliminate bigotry, and this device is just for detection. While I do plan to eventually have versions of this out for the mass consumer market, this is also about more important applications: police stations would like to be able to tell if the person arrested is an alien or not, hospitals could check if EMTs bring someone into the ER... and yes, security at events. There's no way to confiscate someone's powers, but knowing who has them at an event can only make things safer. There _are_ dangerous aliens out there. You've fought them in the streets of this very city."

"This is a corporation, and we're in the business of making money." _And given how the stock price nearly collapsed after Lex was finally convicted..._ L-Corp needed a way to convince investors they were back on track. "And this device will make L-Corp a lot of money."

"I think - I think you're underestimating how much damage this could do in the hands of a bigot," Kara replied. "You're willing to accept that, just for profit?" The sting of Kara's disapproval bit at Lena for a moment, but she forced herself to ignore it. Or try to, anyway.

Lena shook her head, "L-Corp isn't the only company capable of making a device like this, and I assure you, we're not the only ones who have thought of it. And at some point, if people break the law with this device, then that's not the problem of this company - should we ban cars, paper and industrial cleaners?" Kara seemed unconvinced - not actively hostile, thank god, but the idea obviously troubled her.

Lena let out a breath and brought up another point - she'd considered all these ramifications and more, though she hadn't considered how this device could get in the way of connecting with her soulmate. For obvious reasons.

But she'd debated with herself over all these points, and even aside from the business advantages, there were too many other good reasons to release this device - first to hospitals and local governments and law enforcement and the like, but yes, eventually to the general public - albeit that model would provide less specific readouts.

Were Kara not Supergirl, _not_ her soulmate, Lena doubted she'd be trying to hard to make her point, make sure the other woman understood what she was trying to accomplish with this.

"People are afraid of what's different, Kara. Unfortunate, but true. The way to stop that fear is to demystify it. Once people learn that friends or neighbors, people that they individually know and trust and like are aliens, then they'll learn - over time - that the same is true across the board. Bigotry is idiotic and fear of the unknown is stupid, but showing everyone that aliens are just like us can only reduce that fear, reduce the tribalistic stereotypes. Knowing people different than you makes you more open-minded. And knowing that people different than you have the same kinds of foibles as you, or are similar to you in many ways, will only help.  


"That is another thing I hope to accomplish with this. Maybe I am underestimating bigots, but I'd rather think that I'm trusting in the ability of people to surprise us in a good way. I do believe that most people are basically good - sometimes all they need is a push. Isn't that one of the reasons you and your cousin do what you do? To inspire people?"

Kara opened her mouth, closed it, then looked down at the ground a moment, fidgeting with her pen. Then she looked back up at Lena and nodded. "You... I can't say I completely agree with your logic, but... you're right. I'd rather believe the best in people than not." She smiled a little. "J- a friend of mine. An alien. He's a lot less optimistic about the Alien Amnesty Act... and he'd probably actually agree with you about security concerns, to a point."

"The President is making the right choice," Lena said, sincerely, and Kara's smiled widened a little more. "But not everyone who disagrees with her or who has misgivings is my brother." Lena would be lying if she didn't have misgivings herself - all the misgivings she'd already raised. But misgivings alone weren't enough to make her distrust all aliens. Her brother had been a good man once, and he'd let hate and jealousy change him. As much as anything else, Lena almost violently didn't want to be like what he'd become, or like her mother.

Kara laughed light after a moment. "I came for a quote, and I got a whole speech instead." She held up a hand, "It's a good thing... and it was... well you're really passionate about your argument, and I like that."

"I have been known to be long-winded when I'm passionate," Lena agreed.

"It's kinda cute-" Kara started, then flushed, clapping a hand over her mouth.

Lena just smirked, leaning towards Kara a little. "I'll keep that in mind then."

**Cell, DEO HQ**

**October 25th, 2016**

Mon-el, to say the least, had had better days.

All things said and done, he couldn't think of a worse day. Which didn't say much, since his life had, up until pieces of Krypton started raining down on the capital city, down on his family's palace, been basically one good day after another.

It had been _really nice_.

Though he had to give the people of this planet one thing - their prison cells are nicer than the ones back home. He's snuck down to the dungeons to see them once, on a bet. _Not_ a pleasant sight.

Then again, the people put in those cells deserved it. Mon-el didn't deserve to be in a cell.

 _I just want to go home._ He was no expert on interstellar travel, but he had to have been gone... for a long time, to be on a planet he didn't recognize, to be as far from Daxam as he was, based on what the person who he'd had sent the transmission back to his homeworld had said.

What did his parents think? Were they looking for him? They had to be. He was the Prince. They'd dedicate the entire resources of Daxam to find him.

Unless they thought he was dead. If they thought he was dead in the chaos, the damage of the pieces of Krypton landing on the palace...

And now he was here, in a cell, after getting his ass handed to him by a Kryptonian girl who could apparently fly and hit like a charging Zuurt. Well, worse than that really. But somehow, he didn't still hurt - and he could jump really high and was stronger than he remembered being.

 _If this planet gives superpowers, I'd almost like to stay for a bit._ Because it would be cool to be super-strong and maybe even fly sometime.

Though if this planet didn't have Zakarian ale...

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of the door at the far end of the room his cell was in opening, the Kryptonian walking in, still wearing her blue and red outfit, complete with the symbol of the House of El covering the front.

 _Figures. The most self-righteous family on Krypton would absolutely be the ones that survived the death of their world._ Everyone on Daxam knew about the House of El - the most 'enlightened' and 'wise' of all of the Kryptonians, if you believed them. One of the driving forces between Krypton's invasion of Daxam, despite his planet's peace overtures.

 _So much for 'stronger together'_.

"Better get used to  that view. You're gonna be in that cell for a long time." The Kryptonian's declaration was harsh, stiff and judgemental. Did this woman have _any_ fun? Did she even know what fun _was?_

Mon-el just stared at her, getting a better look - he'd been busy getting beaten up earlier. She was pretty. Also obviously a bitch, but then that came with her planet of origin.

She crossed her arms in front of her chest, "Well - that was quite the first impression you made on Earth, Daxamite." _Earth?_ Seemed like a pretty boring name. For a pretty boring planet, based on what he'd seen. "Do you always introduce yourself by trying to kill heads of state?" The Kryptonian went on, as if he had any idea what she was talking about. _I don't think that scientist was the leader of this planet._ And Mon-el hadn't planned on hurting the guy _much._ Some of it had just been Mon-el not realizing just how strong he'd suddenly become on this planet.

"How did you find yourself in a Kryptonian pod?" She demanded. Mon-el just stared at her, wondering what kind of answer she expected - and if any answer would get him out this cell. The way she said 'Daxamite' made it pretty clear that was probably a no.

"Do you have - _anything_ to save for yourself? Anything?" Before he could answer, she just scoffed, starting to turn around and walk away.

"Do they have Zakarian Ale on this planet?" Mon-el asked, expecting it would bother her. No idea how to have fun. "I find most problems go away if you have enough Zakarian Ale," The Kryptonian turned, glaring daggers at him. _Gotcha._ "In order, this view is better than view of your planet raining down on mine in pieces that were blasting holes in the palace and the city. I didn't come here to make first impressions - I didn't plan to come here at all - and I have never tried to kill anyone in my life. As for the pod, that belonged to your planet's Ambassador. One of my personal guardsmen tricked me into getting into it and sent me off. And here I am."

Mon-el had been afraid - terrified - as the pieces of Krypton had rained down on his world. But he hadn't wanted to run. Not without his parents, not without knowing they were safe. He'd tried to stay, tried to get his guardsman to get to safety - he'd always liked Dan-Ves best among his guards... and there'd be no room for him in the Royal Shelters under the palace.

Mon-el had wanted Dan-Ves to leave, and then he could have gone there, where his parents would be seeking refuge against the debris.

It hadn't worked out like that.

"You're not getting anything." The Kryptonian snapped. "Guardsman - so you stole the pod of our Ambassador to escape." She scoffed again. "Typical Daxamite."

Mon-el raised a hand, "Hey - technically, _I_ didn't steal it. But given that it wasn't like he had a home to go back to... and given that it was your people's fault debris was raining down on my world, it kind of seems fair that he gives up his seat to save the heir to Daxam's throne? Don't you think?"

"Crown Prince?" She all but sneered at him. "I'm amazed someone as famously lazy and entitled as you could actually muster the energy to try to kill the President - why did you do that anyway, if you didn't plan to come here? Why were you sending a message back to Daxam!?"

"I have no idea - who is this... Presibent? Is. I was sending a distress call back home." _Because I want my parents back. I want to go back home._

"Why?"

Mon-el stood up and walked up the cell door. "Because I'm in distress!" He looked around, "Are you sure I can't get a Zakarian Ale? What if I said please?" He shrugged, "I mean, on some worlds, that's not even really a thing." Hadn't been for him on Daxam.

"Of course you'd make a joke about this. Thinking about yourselves is all your people do," the woman countered, her tone and gesture dismissive in a way he'd never seen _anyone_ be towards him before.

"And you would know _all_ about my people. The great and enlightened Kryptonian, looking down on Daxam and judging us. Why are you even asking me questions? Shouldn't you have all the answers?"

"What's that's supposed to mean?"

Mon-el just stared at her. Did this woman really have no sense of humor? _At all?_

_I mean I know Kryptonians are dull and boring but still._

"Exactly what I said. I know how your people feel about mine. High and mighty Krypton, the planet of the 'enlightened', the great and 'wise', living above us peasants." Which, given their society, was even more rich. "Your people's entire history has been judging us and claiming you know better - about _everything_ \- ever since you attacked us without provocation-"

"We attacked _you_ ?" The woman came up to the door, bare inches separating them as she spoke, getting right in his face. "Is that what-" she cut herself off, inhaling sharply and letting the breath out. _She's angry._ Like. Really angry.

 _Huh._ So Kryptonians weren't just emotionless robots.

"You expect me to believe you didn't try to kill the President, when she's attacked _right_ after you woke up and escaped?"

"You made up your mind about me when you walked in!" Mon-el shot back. "I didn't come here to kill anyone - I've never killed anyone in my life!" He hadn't even ordered any executions, though he'd probably have to someday once he took the throne. It wasn't a notion he liked - there were a lot of things he'd have to do once he became King that he wasn't looking forward to. "Like you said, I'm lazy and entitled. But if you don't let me go by the time my people get my distress call, they _will_ kill people if that's what it takes to get to me." The woman started to snap back at him again, but Mon-el kept going.

"I'm not threatening - I don't want anyone to get hurt. I _don't._ " She wouldn't believe him, of course, but was true. "But my parents - the King and Queen of Daxam - _will_ do what it takes to free me." He wouldn't say he was pleading with her - not to a Kryptonian. But he needed her to understand.

A strange look passed across her face - he couldn't place it, didn't get what it meant, but then it passed and she just shook her head, "I don't think we have to worry about your parents or your people coming for you." She rolled her eyes, "You can keep lying all you want, but you're not getting out of that cell."

Mon-el stared at her blankly for a moment. _Enlightened and wise Krypton my ass_. She couldn't even see past her own nose. "This is pointless." He turned away from her, lying down on the bench that was the only furniture in the cell and stared up at the ceiling.

The Kryptonian stood there for a long moment, then she scoffed and turned away, walking out the door and leaving him alone with his thoughts and the cell.

He _really_ did want that Zakarian Ale though.


	3. Just Lunch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Disclaimer:** I don't own Supergirl.
> 
> As before, this is not beta-read, so be aware of some probable spelling/grammar issues that I missed, despite my efforts, and a few awkward sentence phrasings.
> 
> I don't really think I have a good handle on Kara's voice, which is one of the reasons she's not a viewpoint character for this fic, at least not as of yet. I'm doing my best, but if you see anything that really feels off, let me know. Also, I'm not that great at writing fluffy or like, normal/casual conversation, such as the stuff that would be happening on this date, so if it feels a little off, that's why, and it's also why I don't cover the _entire_ thing. That and it probably would get repetitive at some point.
> 
> I did my best to mine the Arrowverse wiki to find details about some of Kara's favorite things. Almost everything I mention for her in that sense is mentioned there or from the show.

One In A Thousand

By Kylia

Chapter 3: Just Lunch

**Jinan Palace**

**October 26th, 2016**

Lena had been worried that... somehow, this lunch date wouldn't happen. Leaving aside Kara's job as a reporter for CatCo, she could also be called away for something that required Supergirl's presence. All of which assumed Kara _really_ wanted to go on the date. Kara wasn't under any obligation to be with her.

Kara was _Lena's_ soulmate, not the other way around. Kara was Superman's cousin, Lena was Lex Luthor's sister...

It had only been by throwing herself into some particularly boring and detailed minutia for the company that Lena had been able to distract herself yesterday, once Kara left. She'd resumed her worries this morning, but those worries had been mostly dismissed when she'd read Kara's article in CatCo Magazine.

"I admit I was a little worried," Lena started, as the waitress walked away to give them time to look at the menu. "About your article... given everything. I was worried I'd get a hatchet piece, or at least something far more critical."

Kara gave a slightly sheepish look, "I tried, actually. To write a hatchet piece, just tearing you and L-corp apart from making something that could be so dangerous..." Lena's heart started to fall, but the rest of Kara's words arrested that quickly. "But I couldn't. Because - well, you had a point. I still firmly believe in Alien Amnesty, and giving all aliens here the benefit of the doubt, that they just want to come here to start a new life, that they're not a threat..." Kara frowned.

"But there _are_ dangerous aliens out there," she continued, "and people's concerns aren't unjustified. I'm still worried that your device will only lead to problems, in the long run, but it could also be really good, in the long run."

Lena smiled, as much in relief as in happiness. "I'm glad I was able to convince you that there's something to my reasoning." Lena looked around, and as Kara had promised yesterday, there weren't that many people in the restaurant - just one person at the far end of the room. The restaurant seemed to get most of their business from people coming in for pickup.

"I'm glad you could," Kara said, "because after I submitted the article, something happened, to really drive home that point, about dangerous aliens we need to be careful about." Kara spread her hands a little, as if a gesture of 'what can you do?'

"It's a good thing we have you protecting the city then," Lena smiled. Kara smiled back, and Lena admired - again - just how pretty her soulmate looked when she smiled. _Then again, she looks pretty doing just about everything._

"We can't just sit here and talk about work all the time - or, at least not just my work," Kara pointed out. "I've tried to do some reading about you, but there's not actually much out there. Even in - in Lex Luthor's official... authorized biography, there isn't much about you."

 _Lex knew I didn't want to have details of my life shared._ Lena hated thinking about her brother, even if it was inescapable, because of how... complicated her feelings were towards him. She didn't miss the man he was now, the monster locked up behind the tightest of security.

But she did miss the man he'd once been.

"I've been a private person, most of my life," Lena admitted. And that was the truth, though her mother's efforts to keep her from ever possibly 'stealing' from her precious son's limelight certainly hadn't helped. "Before I took over the company, I was in R&D and Engineering, just making and improving products. That's still where I'd like to be spending most of my time, really."

"So you enjoy inventing, creating new technology?" Kara asked. Lena nodded.

"I love it - pushing the bounds of what human science can do, the limits of human knowledge. It's always been fascinating, and I like the challenge. Because not only do you have to make something and make it work, but you have to make it user friendly, cheap enough to be saleable at a price people will pay - and you have to come out with it first." Lena smiled. "It's even better when you know you've actually beaten someone to the punch."

"Competitive?"

"You have no idea," Lena admitted. She liked winning, liked knowing that she'd accomplished something someone else hadn't. She didn't let it go too far, but she did like to win.

Lena sighed, "Unfortunately, these days, I'm in meetings more than I'm in the lab, but I still try to be involved in the most cutting-edge designs we're working on. Like the device I showed you yesterday - I burned a lot of midnight oil on that. Especially miniaturizing it so much."

Kara nodded, "I can see how that would be hard, yeah. But you made it work."

"What about you - are you very competitive?" Lena asked, taking a sip of her water. She opened the menu, unsure of what she wanted. She enjoyed Chinese food from time to time, but not usually the kind you could get at these hole in the wall restaurants. Too many carbs, too many preservatives... though she supposed Kara wouldn't have a problem with any of them. _I don't know for sure, but her metabolism has to be huge compared to a humans._

Lena had never been jealous of supergirl before, not the way Lex had been of Superman... not she admit to admit, she did envy that ability of Kara's, if she was right about her having it.

"I can be. Not usually though - I don't really see the point, usually." Kara went on with a bit of a shrug: "But if there's something I really want, and someone else wants it...sometimes I do. I kind of got way too competitive with one of my co-workers for a while last year, when she was trying to replace me as Ms. Grant's assistant."

 _Ouch._ Lena had heard horror stories about how hard Cat Grant could be on her employees. Hard, but fair. But still, she demanded a lot and she reportedly could be very short. "What was that job like?"

"Crazy. If I wasn't good at getting by on less sleep, I might not have ever been able to stay on long enough to become a reporter. I didn't realize when I started working there that that's what I wanted, but..." Kara nodded. "You were right, Ms. Grant Was right - I think being a reporter is what I want to do with my life. Part of it, anyway. It's something that I can do... that I can point to, as helping to make the world a better place, give people hope and inspire people." Kara's voice sped up a little as she talked, getting more and more enthusiastic as she started talking about her new job, the one she was passionate about.

"You do have a gift with the written word," Lena agreed. And it was true - not only had it been surprisingly fair, given everything, but it had been just an objectively excellently written article.

"I did get a little competitive with my sister, sometimes, when we were younger." Then her expression brightened, as something came to mind. "Oh, right, that reminds me. I should - I should probably warn you. My sister, Alex... I haven't told her yet... about - you know, me being your soulmate. I haven't really had a chance yet," Kara hurried to add. "I'm not ashamed or anything. She's been busy when I've seen her, and... she's really protective. She's... she's probably going to try and give you some sort of shovel speech."

That sounded familiar, but Lena couldn't place it. Then again, she could guess what Kara meant.

"She doesn't trust a Luthor?"

"She doesn't really, no," Kara admitted, "she's a federal agent, so she's pretty suspicious a lot of the time anyway, and like I said, she's really protective of me. Always has been. When she gets a chance, she's always giving some variation on a shovel speech to _anyone_ I'm dating. But..." Kara's frown deeped and her brow furrowed a little as she did so.

"...yeah, the fact that you're a Luthor would make her be even more suspicious."

 _I'm not letting her intimidate me into breaking things off with my soulmate, however protective and suspicious she could be._ She was on a date with a beautiful woman who was, apparently, her perfect match, and so far, they seemed to be

And she already knew that Kara Danvers/Zor-El was a smart, funny, kind and just... good woman.

Lena was many things, but she wasn't an idiot, and as long as Kara was willing to give her a chance, Lena planned on grabbing with both hands.

 _Whatever is behind soulmates really knows what it is doing._ Lena was falling hard, and quickly. It should bother her, and on some level it did, and yet...

It felt _right._

"It's good she cares," Lena said. "But I don't plan on letting her scare me off."

"Good," Kara's frown vanished immediately, to be replaced with a smile. Before they could say more, the waitress returned to take the order.

"I'll have the Lemon Chicken with Broccoli," Lena said, after looking the menu over once more quickly.

"I'll have... two orders of the potstickers, the sesame chicken and the moo goo gai pan," Kara giggled a little. "I always like saying that one."

_Well, I was right about that, then._

The waitress, if she thought Kara's order was strange, didn't show any sign of it, and just took their menus and left.

"Hungry?" Lena asked with a small smile on her face.

"Always," Kara admitted. "I can-"

Lena interrupted, "My treat." Kara hesitated for a moment, her expression suggesting she wanted to argue the point for a moment, then she nodded. _Good, because I wasn't going to budge._

"You should make sure you try some of the potstickers," Kara said. "Like I said, this place has _amazing_ ones." Kara seemed so eager to share her them with her that Lena couldn't help but say yes.

"I will. I take you like them?"

"I love them - one of the best kinds of food on this planet, next to pizza and Eliza's homemade chocolate pecan pie. Best desert in the galaxy - and given that I've been to twelve planets, I can actually say that." Kara spoke a little bit quieter when she said that part, but she probably didn't need to - there was no one around to hear.

"Eliza's your adoptive mother, right?" Lena hadn't realized until just now - even though she'd known Kara was adopted when she'd checked into her. Her fake identity from before her adoption by the Danvers family was very well put together too - that they both shared the experience of adoption. It was obviously different for Kara, in so many little ways, but still. A bit of a shared experience.

"Right," Kara nodded. "You looked into me too?"

"Can you fault me? I'm curious about my soulmate," Lena pointed out, and Kara shook her head. "So... what are some of your other favorite things? When you're not working or dealing with your other job, what else do you like to do?"

Lena was absolutely _not_ fishing for possible gift ideas, when they got that far. Nope. Not at all.

"When I have time, I like to binge watch things on netflix - _Orphan Black_ , _The Wire_ and of course _Game of Thrones_. Or maybe watch musicals or romcoms. I have seen Wizard of Oz _so many_ times. It's the best musical _ever_. I really like _Funny Face_ \- **most** romantic movie I've ever seen," Lena smiled half-consciously as she sat and watched Kara go on at length about her favorite movies and TV shows - her fondness for NSYNC and Britney Spears, her love of Star Wars, including her eagerness to see _The Force Awakens_ when it 'finally' came out...

Lena was somehow not at all surprised that Kara liked pumpkin spice lattes. They definitely fit her personality and style - in a good way.

By the time their food had arrived, Lena knew quite a bit about her soulmate, beyond just her job and her standing as supergirl.

Though the fact that Kara didn't like operas was unfortunate, because Lena was quite a fan. _Ah well._

As their conversation continued on from there, Lena found herself very glad she'd had her assistant clear two hours for this lunch date, instead of one. They had a lot to talk about, and Lena wanted to spend as much time as she could with Kara before she had to get back to L-Corp.

It was just lunch. But still.


	4. A Step in Two Directions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Disclaimer:** I do not own Supergirl, et cetera, et cetera.
> 
> I just realized that I have been getting the dates wrong for Supergirl Season 2, the entire time. I'll be editing the relevant mentions of the date in previous chapters, but for one, Season 2 takes place in 2016, because of course it does.
> 
> I always felt like the show didn't show us enough of a reaction for Mon-el finding out his whole planet was destroyed. I mean, Kara had 13 years between coming to Earth and the start of the show to come to terms, and it is still affecting her. Mon-el seems to acclimate to his entire world, everyone he knows, being dead, way too quickly. Even for a CW show.
> 
> I am not super versed in text speak, but Kara always strikes me as the sort to pepper her text messages with abbreviations and other forms of textspeak, so I tried to be true to that, and also comprehensible.
> 
> Alex is very aggressive here, but bear in mind she was _very_ slow to trust Lena in canon, and here it's highly personal for her - it's not just Kara being _friends_ with a Luthor, but dating one and that Luthor knows she's supergirl. When it comes to being protective of her sister, Alex does get a little intense.

One In A Thousand

By Kylia

Chapter 4: A Step In Two Directions

**Cell, DEO HQ**

**October 26th, 2016**

It would be an understatement of the... forever to say that Mon-el had slept in better beds, in better accommodations than this cell. Even when he hadn't been in his rooms in the palace, it would have been unthinkable for the Crown Prince to have less than the best.

 _Somehow, I don't think the best is what this planet has to offer._ Things had seemed somewhat nicer than this cell during his brief period trying to figure how how to send a message home.

With a sigh, Mon-el sat up and paced. He'd never been one for nervous energy before, but then, he'd never been penned up in a cell like this. Or... anywhere. A few of his friends among the nobility of Daxam had been confined to their rooms - suites - for infractions here and there, but his parents had never done that with him. It had confused him the first time he'd heard about it, tried to get his parents to ban such things when he was a child. It hadn't worked, but still.

 _At least being stuck in my chambers would have been less mind-numbingly_ ** _boring!_** Mon-el had not gone this long without some kind of stimulation in... ever? Ever. That sounded about right.

At the sound of the far door opening, Mon-el turned... and rolled his eyes when he saw the Kryptonian from before, the self-righteous glyph on her chest and everything. The flying woman who could hit like a charging Zuurt and then some. _I wonder if I'll be able to punch as hard as her at some point._ The idea of being super-strong sounded fun. He could be like one of the legendary heroes of Daxam, saving his people from enemies from within and without.

"So... does everyone on this planet have superpowers? I mean, that guy at the transmitter didn't, but you do, and I do."

The Kryptonian said nothing, just approached his cell and pressed some switch on the outside of the door, causing it to swing open.

Monel looked from the open doorway to her, suspecting something, as she stepped into his cell, leaning against the doorframe a little. "What's going on?" He wanted to believe she was letting him out, because he was innocent of whatever she'd thought he'd done, or at least because she was worried about his parents coming to this planet...

But the woman was a Kryptonian.

"I'm a dangerous killer, the evil Daxamite... and also lazy and entitled." _I'm not entitled, I've only ever wanted what is my due._ Mon-el couldn't exactly deny the charge of being lazy - hard work had never really been his thing.

"I don't know you at all," the Kryptonian replied, quietly, sounding sincere. "And because you're from Daxam, because you're the Crown Prince of Daxam, I decided I _did_ know you. That you were dangerous, just because of that. It was a mistake." She let out a breath, then went on, "You didn't try to kill the President. And I assumed you did... I'm sorry."

Mon-el blinked. A Kryptonian, a member of the House of El, was in front of him, apologizing. Admitting fault. It felt surreal, but before he could make a snarky comment about that surreality, the Kryptonian continued.

"My name is Kara Zor-El. I'm from Krypton - and like you, I'm a refugee on this planet. Earth." She held out her hand towards him, and after a moment, Mon-El took it. She pumped her arm up and down a few times... shaking his hand. _Okay. I think this means we're... cool? Or something._

"Mon-el. Crown Prince of Daxam," he introduced himself formally. The Kryptonian - Kara - let go of his hand, and Mon-el let his arm drop to his sides.

"You know... you're not what I would have expected the Crown Prince of Daxam to be like," Kara admitted.

"You're not what I expect a Kryptonian to be like, at least not now," Mon-el admitted. "So... you didn't answer my question? Does everyone on the planet have powers or...?"

Kara laughed slightly, "No. Not humans, anyway. There's something about the way Kryptonian cells absorb the energy from this planet's yellow sun - from any yellow sun - that supercharges us. Strength, speed, flight... I don't know if you'll get it all, but you got some of it already, and since our people's are still pretty similar, biologically speaking... you could get more."

"Cool." Mon-el chuckled. _I almost hope it takes a while for anyone to come in response my message..._ as much as he wanted to return home, be with his parents again... he also wanted to play around with these powers some more, see what came of them.

"So... what happens now? I mean... did my message get to Daxam? Can you send a stronger singal from here... wherever this place is?" He looked around. Some sort of fortification for the planet's soldiers, he assumed, given the people he had seen.

Kara hesitated for a moment, then: "Uhm... you might... you might want to sit down. There's something I have to tell you."

Mon-el felt his throat clench, his chest tighten at Kara's words, at her careful, cautious tone. _No._ _No._ After a moment, he sat down on the bench, and Kara sat down next to him.

"When Krypton was destroyed... the debris showered onto Daxam," she started, and Mon-el shook his head.

"I know - that's why my guardsman took me to the shuttle... but there were bunkers under the palace and other places on the planet... from, you know, our people's wars... and they didn't fall _everywhere_." Kara said nothing, and Mon-el kept going, insisting. She was wrong - _he_ was wrong at guessing what she was saying. _No._ "People survived - the planet survived! Daxam survived! My parents, my people - they're alive!"

Kara shook her head, "Some of the larger masses hit Daxam's moon, disrupting the gravitational mass of the planet."

"What - what are you saying?" Mon-el didn't even need to ask, but he couldn't stop the question from escaping his lips. He'd never been the best student his tutor's had, never focused or dedicated enough... _No. I'm remembering it wrong. No._ Kara wasn't saying - she wasn't saying

_No._

"Daxam... the planet is still there. But was ravaged by solar storms. It's nothing but wasteland now. Your home - my home... they're both gone."

"You're lying." Mon-el said quietly, quickly, not believing it even as he said it. Kryptonians were too self-righteous to lie. But she had to be lying. His parents couldn't dead. His family. His friends.

"I'm not-" Kara insisted. Mon-el stood, half-staggering back from her, away from her, away from the awful truth she was giving him.

"No... a Kryptonian never lies," Mon-el snarled the name of her people like a curse. "It wasn't enough for your people to just kill themselves." He shook his head, "They had to kill mine too. Finally win the war, right? The war your people started, had to have the last word!" Blindly, he lunged towards her, not even sure why, what he wanted to accomplish, what it would do...

She sidestepped him easily and Mon-el connected with the wall, slamming into it, _hard_. There was a flash of pain, but only a moment. Still, it was enough.

Enough to...

Mon-el tried to stand back up, breathing heavy, angry, rage, seeing red... and then...

Nothing. Mon-el felt empty as his legs gave out and he slid down the wall, knees in front. He blinked against tears that started to form in his eyes, then fall from them... he swallowed, trying to... stop...

"They're dead," he said softly. "They're all... they're all dead." His parents. His family. His friends. His _people_.

"I'm sorry," Kara said softly. "I wish it wasn't true... but..."

Mon-el blinked back more tears, then inhaled sharply. His father wouldn't want him to cry. Not in front of a Kryptonian, especially. Mourn, yes, but... not cry.

A bitter dark thought bubbled to the top of his mind. _You sometimes wondered what it would be like to not be Prince..._ and now he would find out. He was Prince of a dead world, a dead people. If his father really was dead, he was...

 _Technically I'm King now..._ he'd never particularly wanted the throne, or not wanted it. It was just a fact to come eventually. And he had it, sort of, but... what was he king _of?_ Nothing. Nothing at all.

Everyone he knew. Dead.

Closing his eyes a moment, Mon-el prayed, murmuring the words. Asking the gods to watch over their souls... it was a late prayer, gods knew how late, but...

If he was the last Daxamite, then he was the one who had to make that prayer, wasn't he? He didn't have any of the tools, or implements to do it right. He wasn't a priest... but someone had to pray for their souls, and he was who was left.

The whole prayer took several minutes, as he stumbled over the words, paused to remember... choked up...

Finally, he got the words out, finished the prayer. He opened his eyes, and saw that Kara was still there, watching him.

"That was... a beautiful prayer," Kara said, sounding almost grudging. "I didn't - I never actually thought about your people's religion before... just..."

"That we weren't monotheists worshipping Rao alone as the one true god?" Mon-el offered, a dark sarcastic bitterness underlying his words. "Sorry," he said immediately. "I shouldn't - I didn't mean-"

"Mon-el... you just found out your entire world is dead, that everyone you knew, is dead. It wasn't easy for me to just accept that either. I meant what I said - it was a beautiful prayer."

"Making beautiful things is what we do on Daxam," Mon-el started, then, "Did." He closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling, before opening them and forcing himself to his feet.

"Is there - is there somewhere I can... do they have candles, on this planet? I mean, they won't be the right kind, but if I can - if I can at least do that part of the rite..." He trailed off. "Please?" The word felt alien coming out of his mouth, saying it as a genuine request like that.

"I - I don't think there are any candles actually here, on site," Kara said after a moment. "But there aren't, I'm sure we can get a few here for you." She started out of the cell. "Let's... let's see if we can find them?" She gestured for him to follow her, and... without any other idea of what to do, where to go, he did so.

**Lena's Office, L-Corp Headquarters**

**October 26th, 2016**

Working past five was a normal thing for Lena. She made sure her various department heads and managers, here and at other L-Corp locations, understood that making people work past five on a regular or even semi-regular basis was unacceptable. For major projects or the like, the company offered overtime pay, but overworking employees was never ideal for long-term retention and employee productivity.

Unfortunately, as the CEO, she couldn't just leave at five. And she wasn't even down in R&D working on something interesting.

Shuffling the papers on her desk, as if that would make the legal forms fill themselves out, Lena let out a long sigh and paused a moment, reflecting on her date. Given how busy her schedule could be, and how unpredictable Kara's commitments as Supergirl could be, they'd agreed they'd have to wing it a bit to find out when the next time they could meet for a date was, but they'd exchanged several texts when Lena could find a moment-

As if thinking of her made it happen, Lena's phone buzzed with the sound of a newly arrived text message. Kara. Picking up her phone, Lena read the message and then replied.

 **Kara (7:15 pm):** y'know how i said my sister is rly protective

 **Lena (7:15 pm):** You did.

 **Lena (7:16 pm):** Is she on her way here?

 **Kara (7:17 pm):** yea - i kno we talked about w8ing a bit but she asked why I was smiling so much after lunch and - it's rly hard to lie to her!

 **Kara (7:17 pm):** Sorry!

Lena smiled slightly at the notion of their date leaving Kara being unusually smiley, even for her own upbeat nature. She certainly had been doing the same when she'd come back to the office. Only her assistant Jess had actually had the courage to _ask_ why she was so happy, but Lena hadn't enlightened her as to the reason - just told Jess to make sure that if Kara Danvers ever arrived, the other woman was to be allowed into her office immediately, unless she was in a meeting inside, and even then to alert her immediately as to Kara's arrival.

_Because I can always make my excuses if it means she wants to see me._

**Lena (7:19 pm):** It's okay. I wouldn't ask you to lie to your sister about this.

 **Lena (7:19 pm):** How worried should I be?

 **Kara (7:20 pm):** Alex can b kinda scary! But - she won't hurt u w/o proof or anything.

 **Kara (7:21 pm):** but she doesn't believe that ur soulmate tat is real and thinks ur up 2 smthing

 **Kara (7:21 pm):** and even when she believes its real she's gonna give you the shovel speech

 **Lena (7:22 pm):** Is she actually going to threaten me with a shovel in particular? Or just the 'if you hurt her you're dead part'?

Lena had placed the reference a short time after returning to her office - though she rarely had time for it these days, Lena had been - and was, to a much lesser extent - avid consumer of fanfiction, and variations on 'I have a shovel if you hurt her' and the shovel's dual utility for committing murder and for concealment of said murder showed up in fanfiction quite frequently.

 **Kara (7:23 pm):**... probably just the 2nd one.

 **Kara (7:23 pm):** i'm sry she's like this

 **Lena (7:24 pm):** She cares about you, and I'm a Luthor. It's what I'd expect.

 **Kara (7:24 pm):** you don't deserve to b treated that way just bc your brother - it's not fair!

 **Lena (7:25 pm):** Life usually isn't. Besides, I have to have somethings go wrong in exchange for having someone as lovely as you for a soulmate. I can't be allowed to have _all_ the luck.

Kara's only reply was a smiling/blushing emoticon.

Before replying again, Lena paged the security desk on the ground floor.

"If a federal agent named Alex Danvers arrives and wants to speak to me in the immediate future, send her up immediately."

"Of course Miss Luthor," the guard asked, and Lena did the same for the guard outside of her office. With Jess having left for the day at five - at Lena's insistence - the guard there was the one who server as her office's gatekeeper.

 **Lena (7:27 pm):** I mean it.

 **Lena (7:27 pm):** I'll let you know how it goes?

 **Kara (7:28 pm):** please *hug* tty then

Lena put down her phone and tried to get a little bit more of the paperwork on her desk dealt with before Alex Danvers arrived.

As it turned out, the woman had made extremely good time and at 7:37, the door to her office burst open and Lena looked up to see Alex Danvers enter her office. The woman wasn't quite storming in, but she was moving quickly and purposefully.

"Please, Agent Danvers, have a seat," Lena gestured to the empty chair across the desk from her.

Alex Danvers opted to stand, crossing her arms in front of her. "So Kara gave you a heads up."

"Did you think she wouldn't?" Lena asked curiously.

Alex shook her head, "No, not really. Which is why I didn't ask her to. I want to see it." Danvers didn't clarify, but Lena followed what she meant. Pulling fabric aside, she bared her left shoulder.

"It's impossible to fake a soulmate tattoo, though it would take specialized equipment to actually test it. Equipment that isn't exactly something one can carry in a pocket." If nothing else, they could use one of the high-powered scanners in R&D, but Lena suspected Alex Danvers wouldn't accept the results of a device she owned.

"I know," Danvers said, sounding grumpy. She looked over the name, frowning in consternation, presumably after realizing it really _did_ say Kara Zor-El in Kryptonian. Assuming Alex knew the language well enough for that. "So you can't exactly prove it's real here. Convenient for you." The tone was grim, flat, almost deadly.

"You're suspicious because I'm a Luthor, and you're afraid this is some... elaborate trap, as revenge for Superman imprisoning my brother?" Lena spoke in careful, clipped tones, making it absolutely clear to Agent Danvers that she wasn't intimidated in the least. After a life being raised by Lillian Luthor, it wasn't easy to be scared.

"The thought crossed my mind," Alex Danvers deadpanned.

"Agent Danvers, I love Lex, and I probably always will." Lena wasn't going to lie here, in this conversation. For public consumption, she'd disowned Lex in every way possible, but she couldn't _just_ hate him or pretend she didn't still love the man he'd once been, and miss her brother. "He's my brother and for a long time, one of the few friends I had. I wish things had gone differently with him, but by the time Superman finally beat him and locked him up, he needed to be stopped. I'm only glad that he's in prison and alive, rather than dead." Lena looked pointedly at Alex, meeting her gaze.

"Even if this was an elaborate trap, how would I know Kara's name in Kryptonian? Even if I spoke and wrote the language, nowhere is it written anywhere I could possibly access that her birth name is Kara Zor-El."

"You're a Luthor, and she's a Super. Yes, I know some humans have had alien soulmates, but... it shouldn't be possible for the... universe, or whatever the hell it is to match you and her." Lena could tell the woman _wanted_ to raise her voice, but didn't, probably for fear of being overheard.

"I'm aware of the improbability, but it is what it is. If you really want my tattoo to undergo more thorough testing, we can make an appointment at the lab or medical facility of your choice." Lena took a breath, then lowered her voice. "Since I realized Kara was my soulmate, I've smiled more in the last two days than I had in the two months prior. I have no intention of hurting Kara. Or giving up my soulmate just because you don't approve."

Alex Danvers stared her down, and it became a question of which of them would flinch or blink first. Finally, it was Danvers that did so, blinking. The federal agent inhaled sharply, then grabbed one of Lena's business cards off her desk and wrote an address on the back of it.

"Go there, ask for Dr. Mattis." She all but flung the card at Lena, and it bounced off her chest and onto the desk. "I've already spoken to him about it."

"I'll see to it," Lena agreed stiffly. "Anything else."

"If you hurt her, I'll-"

"Kill me?"

"Slowly and painfully," Alex promised, and Lena couldn't be sure how serious the woman was being.

"I'll bear that in mind. Before you leave: Kara said you were a federal agent, but not what agency?"

"FBI," Danvers replied, and Lena nodded.

"If I start getting unexpected and repeated FBI investigations or inquiries, I'll know why then," Lena added, with a small smirk.

"I don't need the Bureau to fuck with your life if it comes to that, Miss Luthor," Alex Danvers promised, and Lena couldn't doubt the truth in the woman's expression.

"Understood."

Once Agent Danvers had left and gone down the elevator, Lena pulled out her phone.

 **Lena (7:50 pm):** Well, I think that went about as well as it could have, all things considered. Would you like to meet up for coffee tomorrow morning?

 **Kara (7:51 pm):** Yes! ^^ Noonan's at 8?

 **Lena (7:51 pm):** Sounds lovely.


End file.
